Spain has launched a new campaign featuring famed chef Ferran Adria (his Michelin star restaurant “El Bulli” is ranked as the best restaurant in the world according to Restaurant magazine) in a bid to reinvigorate its tourism industry.

Tourism authorities launched their “I need Spain” campaign with Adria as their “Tourism Ambassador”, which they hope will be seen by 400 million people in 40 countries.

“The essence of the campaign is the Spanish lifestyle, which attracts more than 50 million tourists a year,” the tourism ministry said in a statement.

Despite this large number of tourists, last year Spain suffered an 8.7 per cent drop in foreign tourists due to the global slowdown, and has also suffered from increased competition from other cheaper destinations such as Turkey and Egypt; so it is understandable that the authorities are keen to reinvigorate tourism in the country.